Nato and Afghan forces have killed 94 Taleban fighters in intense overnight clashes in southern Afghanistan, the military alliance says. Ground troops, backed up by air support, fought four battles in Kandahar province, Nato said. It is part of Operation Medusa, which Nato says has killed 420 insurgents since it began more than a week ago. In a separate incident in the east of the country, a provincial governor was killed in a suicide bomb attack. Paktia Governor, Hakim Taniwal, was in a car leaving his office in the provincial capital Gardez when he was targeted by the bomber with explosives attached to his body. A bodyguard and driver were also killed in the attack, for which the Taleban has claimed responsibility. Governor Taniwal is the highest-ranking Afghan official to be killed since the Taleban insurgency began. The head of the UN assistance operation in Gardez, capital of Paktia province, Thomas Gregg, told the BBC the governor's death was a major setback... http://news.bbc.co.uk

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has said he is ready for an "unconditional" meeting with his Israeli counterpart, after talks with the UK's Tony Blair. Mr Abbas' announcement comes a day after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also said he was prepared for talks without conditions. Mr Blair stressed the importance of the Palestinians forming a government of national unity that recognised Israel. There was a "window of opportunity" for both sides to engage in talks, he said. The UK prime minister was speaking after meeting Mr Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Mr Blair acknowledged that relations between the Palestinians and the Israelis are particularly bad right now, says the BBC's Alan Johnston, in Ramallah. More than 200 Palestinians have died in recent fighting, many of them civilians. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5331730.stm

Iran's nuclear negotiator and the EU foreign policy chief said on Sunday that they had made progress in talks in the search for a compromise to avoid possible U.N. sanctions over Tehran's atomic program.Iran's Ali Larijani said some misunderstandings had been cleared up, while the European Union's Javier Solana said the meeting was productive and that the two would meet again soon.The EU and the United States want Iran to stop enriching uranium to qualify for trade benefits offered by world powers and pre-empt sanctions by the U.N. Security Council."We have made constructive progress. We have reached common points of view on a number of issues," Larijani said."And as mentioned by Dr. Solana, many of the misunderstandings were removed," he said....http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/09/10/iran.eu.talks.reut/index.html?section=cnn_world

CBS said on Saturday it would broadcast the documentary "9/11" on the Internet as well as the airwaves after several affiliates said they would delay or forgo the award-winning film because it includes profanity. The documentary was produced by French filmmakers Gedeon and Jules Naudet and retired New York firefighter James Hanlon and has aired twice without incurring fines by U.S. regulators charged with enforcing broadcast decency standards. CBS said affiliates that cover about 10 percent of the United States had decided not broadcast the program or would show it late at night, citing concerns they could be fined for airing profanity, primarily by firefighters during the crisis, before 10 p.m. The American Family Association, which describes itself as a Christian organization promoting traditional values, has called on CBS stations to forgo or delay the "9/11" broadcast. "The online streaming of this broadcast will allow viewers in those markets to see the ...http://news.com.com/Profanity+concerns+prompt+Web+showing+of+911/2100-1026_3-6113987.html?tag=sas.email

Thousands of students from Saudi Arabia are enrolling on college campuses across the United States this semester under a new educational exchange program brokered by President Bush and Saudi King Abdullah. The program will quintuple the number of Saudi students and scholars here by the academic year's end. And big, public universities from Florida to the Kansas plains are in a fierce competition for their tuition dollars. The kingdom's royal family — which is paying full scholarships for most of the 15,000 students — says the program will help stem unrest at home by schooling the country's brightest in the American tradition. The U.S. State Department sees the exchange as a way to build ties with future Saudi leaders and young scholars at a time of unsteady relations with the Muslim world. ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/09/national/main1990078.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._1990078

The head of Europe's human rights watchdog yesterday called for monitoring of CIA agents operating in Britain and other European countries, after President George Bush's admission that the US had detained terrorist suspects in secret prisons.Terry Davis, secretary general of the Council of Europe, said CIA agents operating in Europe should be subject to the same rules as British agents working for MI5 and MI6."There is a need to deal with the conduct of allied foreign security services agents active on the territory of a council member state," Terry Davis said. "In the UK there is parliamentary scrutiny of the intelligence services but there is no parliamentary scrutiny of friendly foreign services. The UK should be in the lead on this issue." As part of this process, diplomatic immunity should be reviewed. "Immunity should not mean impunity," he said....http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1867438,00.html